2012-10-25

Google+ As Your Central Hub

The Need For A Central Hub

You might ask yourself, why do I need a primary presence online? Can't I just use tools like HootSuite, Streamified, etc. to post to multiple sites/streams?

Absolutely, you could. And tools like these will remain invaluable even if you do centralize to Google+. But what you will likely find (if you have not experienced it already) is that as the frequency of your interactions online increases, and you become more prolific in posting your own original material or sharing other's is the following:

It becomes increasingly difficult to adequately maintain a presence on all of these platforms.

This is especially true when it comes to interacting with your followers, peers, individuals and organizations you follow, and so on. And without a great deal of discipline, you will find yourself going through periods (of increasing frequency and length) in which you are completely neglecting your online persona.

Did I get that event I signed up for on LinkedIn into my calendar? What was the contact info for that person I interacted with on Twitter? How will I share your presentation from last night's user group meeting? What can I do to simplify keeping my calendar and guest list in sync for a live, online event I want to plan?

It's not unlikely you'll eventually need one or more separate page "entities" representing a group, product, etc..

If you are managing a user group, for example, it's best to have a separate page of some sort for this purpose. Direct integration between this page and the professional persona account you use regularly use becomes invaluable when you are trying to remain organized and on top of everything!

The next post in this series will delve into the why Google+ is your first, best option to serve as your central hub when stacked up feature for feature with several major social platforms. Stop by again soon!